Bloodline
by TwilightPony21
Summary: They knew about Kensi.  They came back for her daughter.  Kensi/Callen.
1. Prologue

**Hello there! It has been quite a while since I've had a chance to write - just been so busy with real life - but I've been playing around with this story idea for at least six months now, so I really wanted to get it written. It's not going to be a long story, but depending on how real life goes, the updates might be a bit sporadic. We'll see.**

**I must also warn you that this is a Callen/Kensi story. Yes, I do like the character of Deeks, but I'm really a very loyal Callen/Kensi shipper (as I'm sure most of you know). So if you don't mind Callen and Kensi, please read on. Thanks so much for reading, and please do leave a review!**

**

* * *

**

**-Prologue-**

_She was plunging through space, spinning rapidly, trapped inside an empty room with four blank walls closing in around her. She clawed at her cage, searching for an escape without success, her desperate screams lost among the other__ voices. They were also screaming…earsplitting, painful cries that echoed off the walls, coming at her from all directions. Overcome with dizziness, she put her hands to her ears and fell to her knees, crumpling into a ball on the floor. She couldn't move, she couldn't breathe..._

_"He'll reject her..."_

_"He'll abandon her..."_

_"He'll destroy her..."_

_"And then his bloodline will die..."_

_The angry words swirled around her, almost as if they were suffocating her, swallowing her strength until she trembled in pain. But just at the point when she was about to surrender completely to the vertigo..._

_There was silence._

_There was stillness._

_The only sounds now were her own heart thumping hard against her chest and her own lungs gasping for air, as she tried to catch her breath. Slowly, she dared to uncover her ears and lift her head._

_At that moment, a bright light burst through the ceiling, blinding her in a flash of golden sunbeams…_

Kensi Blye's eyes shot open. She blinked in surprise, finding herself in the dark, safe in the confines of her own bed. Instead of spiraling into empty space, she was tangled in a thick, cozy comforter upon a firmly grounded mattress.

And yet she could still feel her heart pounding. Kensi took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing pulse, as she realized that her pillow was also damp with sweat. Or maybe tears. She wiped her eyes and then quickly clutched her stomach as a wave of nausea suddenly washed over her.

_Another nightmare_, she thought.

She rolled over and found the spot in bed next to her cold and empty. Kensi wasn't surprised. By now, she was used to waking up alone, without the man she had fallen asleep with, as he never slept through the night.

She pushed back the blankets and eased herself out of bed. She pulled on a robe and padded out to the kitchen, silently praying that he wasn't taking apart her toaster again. But when she found the kitchen empty, all electric appliances in their place, she could not explain the strange sense of alarm that set in.

Kensi breathed a sigh of relief as she found him in her living room, sitting on the couch in the dark, holding a cup of tea.

"Callen?"

He didn't respond.

She moved closer to him, taking the mug from his hands and helping herself to a sip. As the hot herbal liquid sloshed down her throat, she smiled as she recognized Hetty's special chamomile blend.

She handed him back the mug and slowly sank down on the couch next to him. It wasn't until then that he finally seemed to break out of his reverie.

"You okay?" he asked.

"What?"

"You're shaking."

Kensi suddenly became vaguely aware that she actually _was_ shaking.

"Nightmare," she said softly. "It's nothing."

He eyed her carefully but didn't say anything more. Instead, he placed the mug on the table in front of him and then pulled her backwards into his arms. He brushed her hair to the side and kissed her neck softly, running his fingers lightly down her arm, sending a warm heat racing through her body as his hands came to rest gently on her stomach.

And just like that, Callen and Kensi remained in silence, lost in their own thoughts, watching as the morning sunlight spilled in through the windows.

"You gonna get ready for work?" Kensi finally asked.

Callen shook his head. "I think I'm, uh, gonna go for a run," he said. "I'll meet you there."

"Callen—"

"I'm fine," he insisted, quickly rising from the couch. "Just a nightmare. It's nothing."

Kensi heard him echoing her own words and knew she couldn't stop him. "Hetty will blow a gasket if you're late," she tried.

"I won't be late."

"Callen." She caught his arm and stood up next to him. Their eyes locked, both of them silently challenging the other to admit that it was much more than a nightmare. When that didn't work, Kensi grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a heated kiss. She felt his lips relax against hers and his arms wrap around her waist, holding her tight. Kensi sighed, as Callen's kiss always had the ability to take her breath away.

She didn't tell him that something about his kiss just didn't feel right that morning.

* * *

"Kensi!"

Kensi cringed and looked up innocently, quickly hiding her hands behind her back.

"Give me the doughnut." Deeks held out his hand. "Come on."

"No."

"Kensi..."

"Deeks, I'm eating for two now."

"You are? 'Cause I'm pretty sure doughnuts aren't part of the recommended diet for expectant mothers."

"Have you ever been an expectant mother?"

"Gonna have to go with no."

"Deeks, you ever gonna learn to let her eat her feelings in peace?" Sam's grumpy voice interrupted the squabbling. "Or her hormones," he added with a slight grin.

"Just looking out for my partner," Deeks protested. He motioned towards the door. "Something you might want to do."

Sam turned to see his partner walking into the bullpen, bag slung over his shoulder, shirt soaked in sweat, his overall appearance looking unusually ragged and worn down.

"What happened to you?" Sam asked bluntly.

"Went for a run."

"You don't run."

"Sam—"

Eric's sharp whistle from above interrupted any further response from Callen. "You hear the shrill, you know the drill," the computer tech announced.

As four pairs of eyes turned to glare at him, Eric gave them all a sheepish look. "Sorry, there's a dead petty officer...thought you might want to...you know..."

He quickly turned on his heel and headed back into the ops room.

As Deeks and Kensi rose from their desks and started for the stairs, Sam hung back for a moment, cornering his partner with a suspicious look.

"Sam, I'm fine," Callen insisted. "Just...needed to clear my head."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "You don't clear your head. What's up, G?" he asked carefully.

"I don't know," Callen admitted. "Something just...doesn't feel right."

* * *

"Petty Officer Jason Reilly," Eric proclaimed, displaying a video on the screen. "Shot early this morning at a café in downtown Los Angeles. Security cameras got footage of the shooting…and the getaway car."

"Gunned down in broad daylight," Sam observed. "Black car, tinted windows, no plates."

"Kaleidoscope is running as we speak," Eric said. "Nothing so far."

"What do we know about this guy?" Callen asked.

"No criminal record, stellar military record, model son, loving husband, basically your all-around good Marine."

"So why would anyone want him dead?"

"Don't know," Eric said. "But we have a witness." He quickly pulled up another photo. "Amanda Reilly, his wife. She was meeting him for breakfast."

"She remember anything?"

"Don't know that either," Eric replied. "She's refusing to talk to the cops."

Callen shrugged. "Good thing we're not cops." He eyed Deeks warily. "Some of us anyway."

The LAPD liaison rolled his eyes. "Okay, not feelin' a lot of love here, guys."

Sam stepped forward to the screen. "Not Deeks," he said, studying Amanda's image closely. "We need somebody else...somebody who can get her to open up."

"I'll go," Kensi volunteered.

"No," Callen said automatically.

"What do you mean no?" Kensi demanded. "Callen, I have a better chance of getting close to this woman than you do. A little girl talk, she'll open up in no time. What's your other option...Deeks?"

Deeks had also been intently studying the screen, and he glared at his partner as her words suddenly registered. "Hey!"

Callen's eyes flitted back and forth between Kensi and Deeks.

"Okay," he finally said.

"I'll be fine," Kensi reassured him with a smile.

Callen looked skeptical, and Kensi scowled at him. "How could I not be?" she asked indignantly. "I'm taking all three of you with me."

"Mmmm," Deeks mused. "Protectors of Kensi."

"You are not my protector," she corrected him.

"I have a gun."

"So do I, and I'm still quite capable of using it."

Kensi could see the amused smirks creeping onto both Sam and Callen's faces. She rolled her eyes and headed towards the door. "Okay, let's go, you three wise guys."

"Kensi, you should be honored to have us three wise guys as your bodyguards."

"Yeah, why is that?"

"Everyone will think you're a really lucky girl." Deeks waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Deeks?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

* * *

After a seemingly endless drive during which Deeks continued to recite the many ways that he was capable of protecting her, Kensi was relieved to escape both the car and her partner. Bounding out of the car with surprising speed, she left Deeks with Callen and Sam and pushed her way through the LAPD squadrons to find Amanda. She flashed her badge and quickly escorted the heartbroken widow away from the commotion. They settled down on a bench alongside the street, although still not far from where Callen, Sam, and Deeks were examining the crime scene.

"Amanda," Kensi said gently. "My name is Kensi Blye, I'm with NCIS. We're very sorry for your loss."

The only response was a sad sniffle as Amanda tried to hold back dangerously threatening tears.

"I know it's hard," Kensi continued, "but we need to know if you saw anything that could help us find who did this."

The woman shook her head firmly.

"Or do you know anyone who would want to hurt your husband?"

Kensi stopped as she realized that Amanda wasn't even listening to the questions. The woman was so lost in her grief that she wasn't going to get anywhere with an interrogation.

She sighed and decided to try a different approach. "Can you tell me more about Jason then?" she asked. "Was it love at first sight?"

Kensi waited patiently for a response, and as a weak smile crossed the woman's face, she knew she had finally broken the ice.

"It was," Amanda whispered. "We were high school sweethearts…we thought we'd be together forever."

Kensi smiled encouragingly.

"Have you ever had that feeling?" Amanda asked. "When you find the one who completes you? And you just know? That's how it was with Jason."

"Sounds like you two were very happy," Kensi said, ignoring the small flutter of her heart as she thought of her own handsome blue-eyed NCIS agent down the street.

Kensi took a deep breath. It was time to ask. "Amanda, do you remember anything about what happened today?"

"I—I can't," she whispered chokingly.

"Amanda, please," Kensi said.

"You wouldn't understand," Amanda accused angrily. "Cops never do."

"I'm not a cop," Kensi argued. "And I'm asking you to help us so that someday you will have an answer for your baby."

She emphasized the last part of her sentence, and from the look in Amanda's eyes, Kensi knew that she had struck a deep nerve.

With another sniffle, Amanda dabbed away the tears and looked at Kensi sadly. "He had just gotten back from deployment," she said. "He made sure that he was allowed to come home when I had the baby."

She motioned to her large belly, as her shoulders began to shake, and a fresh wave of tears started flowing. "And now he's gone."

Kensi nodded sympathetically, wrapping her arms around her own stomach unconsciously.

"So you do understand," Amanda whispered, noticing Kensi's movements.

Kensi quickly unfolded her arms.

"I always thought he would be here for us," Amanda said sadly. "He wasn't supposed to abandon us this way. Oh, God, what am I supposed to do without him?" She quickly wiped another tear from her eye. "Do you ever think about it, Agent Blye? Do you ever think about what would happen if he abandoned you?"

Kensi swallowed hard, as images from her nightmare almost seemed to flash before her eyes. "Yes," she admitted softly. "Yes, I do."

* * *

Inside the café, Callen, Sam, and Deeks were completely puzzled over the crime scene.

"Shooter comes in, kills one guy in a crowded restaurant, and takes off," Callen recounted. "Doesn't steal anything, doesn't shoot at anybody else. So he was targeted."

"Eric said this guy had no criminal record," Sam argued. "Everyone liked him. Came home because his wife's gonna have a baby...why would anyone target a guy like that?"

"Just because he has no criminal record doesn't mean he's not actually a criminal."

"Unless he wasn't the real target," Deeks pointed out.

"Then his wife, maybe?"

"Why would you target his wife?"

Callen shook his head. "Something's off."

"You're telling me," Deeks muttered. "There's no motive, so there's no reason—"

Callen suddenly looked up. "Why do you kill a Marine for no reason?"

"Because you're insane?" Deeks asked.

But Sam knew exactly what his partner was getting at. "Because of NCIS."

Callen nodded.

"Guys!" Eric's voice came through loud and clear in their earpieces. "Kaleidoscope just got a hit. That black car...it's on its way back to the café...it's a block away from you."

The three men looked up, realization striking them all at once. "Kensi," they said in unison, bolting out the door.

* * *

"Jason was telling me about some of his buddies in his unit," Amanda explained. "And this man just came up to us and said, 'you're a U.S. Marine.'"

"But you didn't know him?" Kensi asked.

"No," Amanda said. "We'd never seen him before."

"Do you remember anything about him?"

Amanda scrunched her forehead as she tried to recall the details. "He had dark hair," she said. "He was dressed in dark clothes, too. And he spoke English, but had a heavy accent. I'm not sure…it might have been Russian?"

"Russian secret operative," Kensi guessed.

"Secret operative?"

"Maybe," Kensi said. "Go on."

"Jason said yes, he was a Marine. And the man said that he was sorry, but he had no other way to contact NCIS."

Amanda quickly took a deep breath, but she could not stop the relapse into tears. "And—and then he shot him."

Kensi shook her head. "I'm sorry…what? Why would a Russian secret operative be after—"

She stopped short as she caught sight of Callen, Sam, and Deeks racing out of the café, their guns drawn. Her entire body immediately tensed in high alert, and as she turned her head to scan the area, she almost doubled over from a sudden sharp contraction in her side.

"Kensi! Black car on the street...get out of there!"

Kensi looked up just in time as the black car roared down the street, two masked figures hanging out the window with guns aimed directly at her. Ignoring her pain, Kensi somehow managed to leap to her feet and shove Amanda out of the way, just in time as the gunmen opened a rapid line of fire.

With no thought to her safety, Kensi whipped out her own weapon and fired back.

People scattered on the street, screaming in panic, as Kensi's bullets smashed the back windshield. She saw Callen, Sam, and Deeks racing towards the car in tandem, riddling the vehicle with rounds from all directions. The car screeched to a halt, reversed, and came speeding back towards her.

"Kensi!"

It happened in a split second, but Callen felt like he saw the entire scene in slow motion.

Kensi squared up against the car and fired through its front windshield. The glass shattered, and there was an agonized cry as the bullets fatally struck the driver. The car rolled wildly out of control, heading straight for Kensi on the curb.

At the last second, Kensi leapt to the side as she had done so many times before.

But this time she could not get out of the way fast enough.

The brakes screeched and the car slammed into her body, flinging her sideways and crumpling her to the ground. As the vehicle smashed into the brick wall of the closest building, it finally came to a halt amidst a massive wreck of glass, metal, and other debris.

"Kensi!"

Rushing to her side, Callen dropped to his knees and whipped out his phone.

"Eric—"

"Ambulance is on its way," came the voice in his ear.

"Kensi..."

The voices almost seemed to be swirling inside her head. She could hear Callen's voice murmuring softly to her. She could also hear two other voices yelling nearby and the ambulance siren already wailing in the distance.

"Get down on the ground! Turn over!"

It was Sam and Deeks who were yelling, as they ripped the car doors from their hinges and roughly hauled the gunmen out of the vehicle, quickly slapping handcuffs on their wrists.

"Come on, Kenz…stay with me..."

_Callen_. Kensi tried to speak to him, tried to whisper his name, but the words caught in her throat. She could only gasp in pain as another contraction ripped through her side. Her entire body felt as if it were shattering into pieces. She could smell blood, probably her own, and her head throbbed violently as her heart pounded in double time against her chest.

Kensi closed her eyes, slowly drifting in and out of consciousness. She saw the empty white room as its walls began to spin around her. She could feel Callen's grip on her hand, and she tried to squeeze back, but her fingers refused to move. She desperately wanted to say something to him, but she still couldn't find her voice.

She wanted to tell him good-bye.

She wanted to tell him to let her go.

And above all else, she wanted to tell him to save the tiny heart beating inside of her...


	2. Part I

**Thank you all for your reviews and alerts and favorites. I'm really glad you liked the first chapter, and I hope that the rest of the story lives up to expectations!**

**Several of you asked about how far along Kensi is in her pregnancy and whether or not she and Callen are married. I have actually intentionally left those details a little vague because they may come up in some later scenes that I haven't quite finished working out yet. Also, as you will see from this chapter, there is a little twist in time that affects a few things. I hope the story still comes across okay.**

**Thanks for asking, and thank you again for reading!**

**

* * *

**

**-I-**

"Breanna!"

The little girl had just swung a baseball bat high above her head, angrily preparing to smash the front headlight on one of the plastic playground cars. She turned abruptly as she heard her name bellowed across the schoolyard, her silky brown hair flying around her shoulders and her piercing blue eyes flashing with suspicion.

"Breanna, put the bat down and come over here!"

Her teacher sounded serious now. Reluctantly, Breanna did as she was told.

"Ooooh, Breanna's in trouble!" came the taunting voice from inside the playground car.

She quickly lunged for the bat again, and the little boy immediately leapt out of the car and scurried away.

Breanna glanced back at her teacher and debated disobeying for a moment, but curiosity got the better of her. Standing next to her teacher were two tall men who seemed to be watching her every move.

As she approached, she looked up at the men, and both of them smiled warmly. Breanna decided that despite their intimidating builds, she liked their smiles.

"Breanna, how many times have I told you that we do _not_ go around bashing the headlights out of playground cars?" The teacher let out an exasperated sigh and turned to the men next to her. "I'm so sorry," she apologized.

"That's all right, ma'am."

One of the men knelt down to Breanna's level, looking straight into her blue eyes. "Breanna, my name is Sam Hanna," he said. "I'm an NCIS agent. And this is Deeks. He works with us, too."

"NCIS?" the little girl asked.

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service."

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service," Breanna repeated.

Deeks grinned at her. "Sharp kid," he said. "So hey, uh, why were you beating on that car over there?"

"Bobby wouldn't let me play," Breanna said angrily. "He said girls couldn't play with cars."

Deeks glanced over at the playground car whose headlights had indeed been smashed to pieces. "I don't think Bobby's gonna have a problem with that anymore," he said wryly.

Deeks' expression suddenly grew serious as he happened to catch a glimpse of two men approaching from the other side of the playground cars.

"Uh, Sam, we got two guys in black sunglasses…"

"I see 'em." Sam stood up and turned to the teacher. "Can you take the children inside?" he asked quietly. "Leave Breanna with us. Act normal. Just like it's the end of recess."

The woman looked at him worriedly but nodded, and when she blew her whistle, the children scampered to her side. As they filed into orderly lines and disappeared into the school building, Sam and Deeks led Breanna to the far end of the playground, shielding her from view while keeping a watchful eye on the other men.

"Breanna, I need you to stay with us," Sam said quietly. "Right next to us. Can you do that?"

The little girl nodded, as she took Sam's hand and clutched it tightly.

The two men in sunglasses had now passed the cars and were making their way further onto the playground, speaking softly to each other, their attention clearly focused on Breanna.

Sam clicked a few buttons on his phone, trying to remain inconspicuous as he snapped photos and strained to hear any parts of their conversation.

"You understand what they're saying?" Deeks asked under his breath.

"Nope," Sam replied. "A little rusty on the Russian...you?"

"A lot rusty," Deeks admitted.

"We come for the girl," the first man suddenly called out across the playground. Now he spoke in slow, halting English.

"She's not available," Sam informed him.

The man paused to converse quietly with his partner, but Sam and Deeks didn't take their eyes off them. As both men reached into their trenchcoats, the sunlight glinted off two shiny metal barrels.

"Get down!"

Sam tackled Breanna to the ground as the men fired wildly at them. The little girl cried out as a cascade of bullets screamed over her head and clanged off the perimeter fence.

"Cover me!"

Sam leapt to his feet and exploded out of the playscape, with Deeks at his back, both of them returning the fire. They only had to shoot off a few rounds before the Russian men quickly retreated to the parking lot, shouting at each other in angry voices.

"Deeks!"

"We're good!"

With Deeks safely guarding Breanna, Sam raced out to the curb in pursuit. He spotted the two men already fleeing at top speed inside a black car, and he fired a rapid round of bullets at the vehicle, putting a considerable number of holes in the side. But the car didn't stop. As the tires squealed around the corner, making a clean getaway, Sam could see that there were no plates, and he lowered his gun in frustration.

He immediately whipped out his phone. "Eric, two guys in a black car, no plates, heading south away from the school. Sending you photos of them now."

Sam was still punching buttons on his phone as Deeks and Breanna quickly made their way up to the parking lot.

"You get 'em?" Deeks asked.

"Nope." Sam sounded annoyed with himself. "Sending photos to Eric. She okay?"

Deeks nodded, and Sam looked over at Breanna. She was shaking slightly, but she still looked remarkably composed for a little girl who had just been targeted in a shootout.

"Come on, let's get her out of here."

They quickly escorted Breanna back to the Challenger, and as Sam opened the door for her, Breanna looked up at him a little worriedly. But when he smiled at her and motioned inside the car, Breanna's concerns vanished, and she clambered into the back seat.

"Where are we going?" she asked, as Sam slid into the driver's side.

"You'll see when we get there, B."

"B?"

"Yeah," Sam said with a chuckle. "You like that name?"

The little girl tilted her head, as if she were contemplating the name. "You can call me B," she finally said.

"That okay with you?"

The little girl grinned. "Yeah."

* * *

It wasn't long before they pulled up to the boathouse, and as Breanna entered the building, her eyes went wide with excitement. "Where are we?" she asked.

"Somewhere safe," Sam explained calmly.

Breanna immediately hopped up on the couch and made herself comfortable, although concern suddenly clouded her pretty blue eyes. "Sam, when can I go home?"

"I don't know, B," Sam replied honestly. "It might be a while."

"Or it might not."

Sam spun around at the voice behind him. A little lady had just stepped out of the shadows, and Sam knew that the situation must be serious if she had come down to the boathouse.

"Mr. Hanna," she said. "A word, please."

Sam glanced over at Breanna. "Uh, B, why don't you stay here and hang out with Uncle Marty for a while?"

Breanna looked up at Deeks suspiciously. "Uncle Marty?"

Deeks pretended to be slightly hurt. "Hey, what's wrong with Uncle Marty?" he asked. "You know that Uncle Marty knows how to party, right?"

Breanna looked at him doubtfully.

"Okay, come on, kid," he said, ruffling her hair. "How are you at card games?"

As Deeks plopped down on the couch next to her and dished out a deck of cards, Sam made his way over to Hetty.

"How is she, Mr. Hanna?"

"Doing as well as any kid can after being shot at this morning."

"Have you told her?"

Sam shook his head.

"She has to know some time," Hetty insisted.

Sam sighed. "I know, it's just a lot for a six-year-old to take in, Hetty."

"I understand that, Mr. Hanna, but she is not just any ordinary six-year-old. Have you forgotten that she is Callen and Kensi's daughter?"

"No," Sam said quickly. "How could I?"

The two of them looked over at Breanna. The little girl had just identified the queen of hearts in Deeks' card game, and her blue eyes sparkled with delight, as she giggled happily and twirled her wavy brown ponytail. Whether Deeks was letting her win or not, there was a certain familiar quality to her dazzling smile that both Sam and Hetty were happy to see again.

"The resemblance is uncanny, isn't it?" Hetty asked, almost reading Sam's mind.

Sam chuckled. "Yeah."

"Hey, guys?"

Sam looked up as the giant computer screen flickered on, and Eric's image faded in.

"I just ran facial recognition off the photos that you got at Breanna's school."

"You get anything?"

"Yeah. They're Russian. Just entered the country two days ago."

Sam frowned. "So they're back."

Eric nodded. "Yeah. And when I checked out the security cameras around Breanna's house, guess who I found?"

"Same guys," Deeks guessed, walking over to the screen to join them.

"Where's B?" Sam asked.

Deeks motioned to the couch. "Sacked out."

As Sam noticed the little girl curled up on the couch, he couldn't help but smile. "Just like her father," he muttered.

"Same guys," Eric confirmed triumphantly, bringing Sam's attention back to the screen. "There was a camera next door that caught them staking out Breanna's house."

"So they know she's Callen's daughter," Sam grumbled, "and now they know how to get to her."

"Uh, so where is Callen?" Deeks asked.

"Off this case," Hetty announced.

Deeks couldn't hide his surprise. "Off this case?" he repeated. "But she's his daughter?"

"Which is precisely why Mr. Callen has been removed from this case," Hetty said matter-of-factly.

"They knew Kensi was pregnant," Sam said quietly. "But they thought her baby died with her. Took 'em six years to figure out that she didn't. And now they're willing to use her to get to Callen."

"Why?" Deeks asked. "Callen doesn't even mention the fact that he has a daughter—"

The look on Sam's face shut him up quickly.

"Mr. Deeks," Hetty interjected. "Whether or not Callen acknowledges that he is a father is not up for debate here. As I recall, Callen alone made the decision to place his little girl in a home to give her a life that he could not give her. Unfortunately, because she carries his bloodline, she is also extremely valuable collateral."

Hetty looked at both men solemnly. "Mr. Hanna, Mr. Deeks...Breanna's house. Now. Take her with you."

Sam and Deeks knew that meant the discussion was closed. They both nodded and obediently headed for the door.

"Eric?" Hetty turned back to the screen and spoke in a commanding tone. "Call Callen."


	3. Part II

**Hello there! I'm so sorry this update took a little longer - I really struggled with the revising of this chapter. I rewrote it many times and considered splitting it into two chapters but then decided that it really needed to be one for the full effect. But now I think it is finally finished! And I know you are all curious about Kensi, so this chapter does include more details about her and Callen. Thanks again for reading, and please do leave a review to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**-II-**

_"Brandon Stewart, youngest son of a prominent industrial CEO, recently engaged to his long-time girlfriend, Marissa Roberts."_

_Callen looked up from the file he was reading and studied his reflection in the mirror. "You think I oughta wear a tie?"_

"_Hmmm...you're disillusioned. Your father wears a tie."_

_Callen spun around in surprise. "Hetty, we're hitting the high rollers here. I thought we were going for formal."_

_"Formal can be done without a tie, Mr. Callen." As if to prove her point, she finished buttoning his cufflinks and yanked him down to her level to straighten his collar. "Lest you return it with a blood stain and neglect to tell me about it," she added disdainfully._

_"Hetty, I'm offended."_

_"Tough."_

_She stepped back to examine her handsome agent, dressed in a sleek black suit, with a crisp white shirt slightly open at the collar, without a tie. She nodded approvingly._

_"Your lady awaits, Mr. Callen," she said. "Be a gentleman tonight, would you?"_

_Callen rolled his eyes at her suggestive tone. "Hetty, it's just an op."_

"_Mmmm." Hetty sounded thoughtful. "Sometimes it's hard to tell."_

_~*~o~*~_

_For something that was just an op, Hetty had certainly gone to great lengths to ensure that it would be an impressive one. Even Callen and Kensi were surprised as their white stretch limo pulled up to one of the most expensive restaurants in Los Angeles. Sliding gracefully off the leather seat, Kensi attached herself possessively to Callen's arm, following as the_ _maître d'_ _showed them to a private table illuminated by soft, romantic candlelight._

_With the two of them dressed in elegant formal attire, looking every bit the rich, attractive, newly engaged couple they were portraying, anyone would have bought the act that Callen and Kensi were putting on. If it weren't for the button cameras in their clothes, the surveillance equipment that Eric was monitoring, and the lines of communication in their ears, the two of them might have bought it, too._

_"He's here," Kensi suddenly hissed under her breath._

_As their guest approached the table, Callen instantly shifted into his undercover persona. He quickly stood and politely greeted a tall, gruff-looking U.S. Marine lieutenant._

_"Brandon Stewart," he said, extending his hand. "And my beautiful fiancée, Marissa Roberts."_

_Kensi provided a dazzling smile right on cue._

_"Good evening, Mr. Stewart, Ms. Roberts," the lieutenant said. "I believe I have an attractive business proposition for you."_

_~*~o~*~_

_"Didn't think he would fall for that," Kensi admitted later that night._

_"U.S. Marine lieutenant looking for kickbacks from a billion-dollar corporation," Callen said, shaking his head. "Thought he could make a deal with the boss's son and his fiancée."_

_"Guess he thought he wouldn't get caught."_

"_He might have been rethinking that when you socked him in the jaw tonight."_

_Callen gave her a cheeky smile, and Kensi found herself uncharacteristically blushing at his somewhat twisted compliment._

_"Nice work, Kenz," he added softly._

_She smiled shyly in response, the blush slowly spreading through the rest of her body. Her heart skipped a beat as he took a step closer, and she wondered if Callen could also feel the heat radiating between them._

_She was completely unprepared for the sparks that exploded inside of her as his lips softly brushed against hers. His mouth was warm and tender, and she could feel her knees go weak as she melted into him. When he pulled back after a moment, both of them remained frozen, staring at each other breathlessly, wondering what exactly had just happened._

_Kensi found her voice first. "Callen," she breathed, "the op is over."_

_He brought his hand to her cheek, and his eyes locked on hers. "Sometimes it's hard to tell," he whispered._

_And when his lips descended on hers again, Kensi was more than willing to let him take her breath away._

_~*~o~*~_

As the ocean waves crashed upon the shore below the pier, the lone figure sitting on the sand slowly touched a finger to his lips. After all this time, he swore he could still taste her. He could still feel her soft kisses trailing down his neck, and he could remember the pleasurable sensation of her body pressed against his.

He had no idea when that line between undercover and reality had started to blur. He had never even seen it coming. But maybe he and Kensi had spent so long working together – and dating each other undercover – that falling in love with each other was simply the next natural step.

He closed his eyes as he felt a familiar stabbing pain in his chest. The anger that had consumed him after Kensi died had been unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He had been blindly hellbent on tracking down whoever had ordered the hit on her, and after multiple incidents of reckless, unauthorized violence, Hetty had furiously yanked him from the case.

She told him there was someone else he had to live for now.

_Maybe she had known all along._

Callen was quickly torn from his thoughts as he heard familiar footsteps approaching.

"Six years," he said without turning around.

"Six years," repeated the familiar voice behind him.

Callen sighed angrily. "How did they find her, Hetty?" he demanded. "We hid her so well."

Hetty bowed her head almost ashamedly. For once, the little lady had no answer for him.

Six years ago, she had been fully responsible for hiding Callen and Kensi's daughter from the Russian agents. On the day when they had ambushed her team, there was a good reason why they thought Kensi's baby had died with her. No one should have survived that car crash. But as Kensi had rapidly slipped away from them, even Hetty could not explain the miracle that had allowed her daughter to survive.

As the premature child was pulled from her dying mother, Callen had made his decision. With a heavy heart, Hetty had devised a backstopping so deep that the little girl's lineage could never be traced back to Callen or Kensi. She had found a new home. She had found new parents. She had meddled with the birth certificate. And she had probably taken other questionable action along the way, too.

But it had been a necessity. After Kensi's death, Hetty had watched her team of agents crumble around her. She hadn't replaced Agent Blye, knowing that no replacement would have been accepted, and she had taken a lot of heat for that decision from Director Vance. But after she had watched her Navy SEAL beat the hell out of the punching bag upstairs, her LAPD liaison mope around like a lost puppy, and her special agent in charge tear apart Los Angeles in furious vengeance, Hetty knew that she had made the right decision.

~*~o~*~

_"Go home, Mr. Callen," Hetty commanded._

_Callen shook his head. "Nothing left for me there."_

_Hetty watched sadly as Callen gulped a shot of liquor and swallowed hard, letting the liquid burn his throat on the way down._

_"This is what they wanted," Hetty pointed out. "They wanted you to suffer."_

_"I'm not suffering," Callen replied._

_Hetty raised an eyebrow._

_"To suffer, you have to feel something—"_

_"And you don't feel anything anymore," Hetty finished. She nodded in understanding. "Mr. Callen, you know that it is when my agents stop feeling that I begin to worry."_

_Callen didn't reply. With a blank expression in his eyes, he placed an empty glass on his desk and picked up the bottle to pour. He looked at Hetty expectantly._

"_Oh, hell." Hetty sighed. "Better make it a double."_

_~*~o~*~_

Hetty quickly pulled herself from the memories and studied Callen carefully. "You've been waiting for this for a long time," she said softly.

"Six years." Callen looked over at the little lady, and she could see the pleading in his eyes. "Hetty, if you take me off this case again..."

She held up her hand to silence him. She wasn't going to argue anymore. With a heavy sigh, Hetty nodded her head in surrender. "Sam and Deeks are already there," she said simply.

Callen cocked his head in surprise, and he almost seemed to hesitate. He looked at Hetty questioningly.

"We're throwing protocol out the proverbial damn window," she explained. "Because Mr. Callen..." Her voice grew soft. "Your daughter needs you."

* * *

"No place like home," Deeks commented as he and Sam pulled into the driveway of Breanna's house.

Breanna grinned as she hopped out of the car and skipped up the stone walkway. Her house did indeed have a cozy, inviting appearance. It was a soft pastel color, clean and well-kept, with several flower boxes adorning a pretty bay window.

"Breanna?" a voice called from inside.

"Mommy!"

As the little girl ran to the front door, a short, plump blond woman rushed out and enveloped Breanna in a big hug. "Oh, Breanna, where have you been? I was so worried when the school said they couldn't find you. I just got off the phone with them—"

"I was with Sam and Deeks," Breanna explained innocently.

At that point, the woman suddenly noticed the two agents following her daughter.

Sam nodded politely. "Special Agent Sam Hanna, Detective Marty Deeks, we're with NCIS."

"Um, Elizabeth Johnson," the woman said in surprise. "What's going on?"

"Honey, is that Breanna?"

Elizabeth turned at the voice calling from inside the house. "Outside, Michael," she said.

Her husband stepped out of the house, and Breanna bounded into his arms.

"Hey, sweetheart, where have you been?"

"With Sam and Deeks!" Breanna repeated.

Michael looked at his wife worriedly. "Honey, what's wrong? Who are these people?"

"NCIS."

Sam nodded. "Mr. and Mrs. Johnson," he said, "we'd like to ask you a few questions about some men who were seen near your house yesterday. You and Breanna may be in danger—"

Sam suddenly stopped. He didn't like the familiar ominous feeling that was creeping up the back of his neck. He eyed the street warily as a single black car coasted up to the curb near the house and multiple other cars pulled up behind it. His uneasiness quickly turned to alarm as several men in dark sunglasses and trenchcoats emerged from each vehicle.

"We got company."

"You gotta be kidding me," Deeks muttered next to him. "Again?"

"Inside!" Sam yelled.

Before they could even blink, he and Deeks shoved Breanna and her parents inside the house, knocking them to the ground as the first round of bullets sprayed through the bay window. He heard Breanna's mother scream as the glass shattered and colorful flower petals catapulted through the air.

Heavy footsteps rushed into the house, and Sam quickly flipped himself over towards the doorway and fired across the room. Deeks slid across the hardwood floor, firing from another tough angle on the ground. The two of them together were fast and accurate, and their bullets took several of their attackers by surprise, their weapons clattering to the floor before their lifeless bodies followed.

"Sam, behind you!"

Sam had managed to scramble to his feet, and he barely heard Deeks' warning before a pair of strong arms wrapped around his throat. He angrily slammed his assailant into the wall and thrust an elbow into his face. The man stumbled backwards and didn't have time to recover before Sam delivered a fatal round of shots to his heart.

"Deeks, get down!"

Another round of fire came blasting through the front window, and Sam dove for cover behind an old recliner, as Deeks slid under the coffee table just in time. Elizabeth and Michael remained huddled behind the couch, and Sam held Breanna tightly behind the chair.

"Where are they coming from?" Deeks yelled.

"Don't know...got any ideas?"

"Actually I was hoping you'd have some!"

Sam and Deeks suddenly heard another car door slam outside. Shots blasted against the hood of the car, and there was some muffled yelling and then another violent round of gunfire.

"More of them?" Deeks groaned.

"Gonna have to take 'em through the front door," Sam hissed.

"You want to open the front door?"

"I got you covered."

"Me? Don't you think a former Navy SEAL would be a better choice—"

"Just do it, Deeks!"

Taking a deep breath, Deeks scrambled out from underneath the coffee table and quickly crawled to the front door.

Sam rose from behind the chair and aimed his gun. He looked over at Deeks, mouthing the countdown.

_One. _Deeks nodded.

_Two. _He reached for the doorknob.

_Three_. The door swung open.

A dark figure stood in the entrance, Sam's gun aimed at him, his gun aimed at Sam, their fingers hovering over the triggers.

Both of them lowered their weapons simultaneously.

"Nice of you to drop in," Sam muttered.

"Thought you'd be happier to see me." Callen gave his partner a sly smile as he stepped over the threshold.

"We had it under control."

"Who? You and Deeks? Yeah, I could tell—"

Callen suddenly broke off as his gaze fell upon Breanna peeking out from behind the chair. He felt his breath catch in his throat, and the little girl seemed equally stunned as her icy blue eyes met their own reflection. Even Sam felt his heart constrict as he saw father and daughter side-by-side for the first time.

"Breanna," he said softly. "This is—"

"Callen."

Sam shot Callen a questioning look, but his partner refused to meet his eyes.

"Just Callen."

"G—"

But Sam didn't get a chance to argue. Another armed man stepped up in front of the house and cocked his gun.

Callen didn't even blink. He whirled around in the doorway and fired. The bullet slammed into the man's shoulder, and he collapsed to the ground with a loud shriek.

Both Sam and Callen rushed forward, their weapons drawn. The man lay convulsing on the driveway, his teeth clenched in pain, his other hand clutching his bleeding shoulder.

"You'll live," Sam told him, roughly wrenching the man's arms behind his back and slapping handcuffs on him.

"You think he'll be in a condition to talk?" Callen asked.

"Hope so…since the rest of them aren't in a condition to breathe."

Just then, another shot rang out from inside the house**.**

"Drop the weapon!" Deeks yelled.

With their suspect secure, Callen and Sam bolted back into the living room to find the LAPD cop facing off against another masked man. The two of them drew their weapons and swiftly moved into position at Deeks' side.

"He came out of nowhere, Callen," Deeks explained quickly. "Didn't see him."

Michael lay unconscious on the floor, and the man was holding Elizabeth hostage, his arm tightly clamped around her throat, his gun held to the side of her head. The woman whimpered in fear, her entire body trembling as the man roughly jerked her backwards.

"Let her go," Sam threatened in a low voice.

"Where is the girl?" the man demanded. When he received no response, he growled angrily. "Do you _want_ me to kill her mother?" he asked. An evil, knowing smile spread across his lips as he looked directly at Callen. _"Again?"_

"No!"

They were all startled to hear Breanna's cry from behind the chair. Without hesitation, the little girl launched herself onto the man's shoulders, clawing at him furiously. He laughed and easily swung Breanna to the side with one arm, grabbing her around the waist instead. She pounded on his ribcage, kicking her legs and squirming against him, but she was no match for a full-grown man who held her fast.

The man glanced back at the three agents with a satisfied smirk. "We will be waiting for you, Agent Callen," he said. He suddenly released his grip from around Elizabeth's neck, shoving her to the floor, and he hoisted Breanna into his arms, pulling a small, round object from his pocket.

"Get down!" Sam yelled.

The masked man thrust the hissing smoke bomb into the middle of the room, and Callen took his only opportunity for a clear shot. He fired off a rapid round of bullets as the grenade exploded, releasing several blasts of thick black smoke into the air. Callen hit the ground as the smoke engulfed him, and he heard his shots ricochet harmlessly off the wall. He swore he could also hear the masked man laughing evilly as he and Breanna disappeared behind the dark, foggy cloud.

"Stay here!" Callen yelled at Sam and Deeks.

Coughing hard and wiping the tears from his eyes, Callen blindly felt his way through the smoky house. His lungs were already burning from the lack of oxygen, and he stumbled hard as his fingers grasped for the doorknob, yanking the door open.

By the time he emerged on the street, the man was gone. By the time Sam appeared at his side, Callen had lowered his gun and was simply staring into the distance.

"G?" Sam could not understand why his partner hadn't taken the car and picked up the chase.

"That's what he wants," Callen said. "He wants me to chase him."

"And?"

"And we're not gonna do it that way."

Callen turned abruptly and strode back into the house. Sam followed.

"LAPD is on their way," Deeks reported. "Paramedics, too."

Callen nodded. The air in the living room was still a little hazy, but most of the smoke had cleared surprisingly quickly. He saw that Michael was now sitting upright on the couch, holding his head.

"You okay, sir?"

"I'm fine," Michael said bravely, although he looked quite shaken up. "The guy caught me completely by surprise."

"What is going on?" Elizabeth demanded. "Who are these people?"

"Russian secret operatives," Callen replied calmly.

"Russian what? Who—what could they possibly want with Breanna?"

Elizabeth's voice was panic-stricken, and her eyes were watering dangerously. When she suddenly burst into tears, Michael quickly wrapped his arms around her in comfort. "Oh, Michael, why couldn't she just have stayed hidden behind the chair?" she sobbed.

"Elizabeth, she was trying to save you," Michael murmured softly. "She heard the man's threat and thought she could stop him."

"She's always been that way," Elizabeth explained tearfully. "She doesn't think before she acts. She's fearless. Goes off and does these dangerous things all on her own."

Sam leaned slightly closer to Callen. "Wonder where she gets that," he said, only loud enough for his partner to hear.

Callen ignored him. "Did you recognize any of them?" he asked.

"No," Michael said. "We've never seen them before."

"Why do they even want her?" Elizabeth asked again, her voice bordering on hysterics now. "She's just a little girl."

"They won't hurt her," Callen insisted. "She's too valuable to them."

"How can you be so sure?" Elizabeth argued. "Oh, God, we have to do something."

"We'll find her. LAPD will be here for you in a few minutes."

"You can't just ask us to sit here!"

"I'm not asking," Callen growled.

Elizabeth shot him a deadly look. "Obviously you don't know what it's like to have a daughter, Agent Callen."

Callen's jaw tightened. "No," he said coldly. "No, I don't."


	4. Part III

**I'm so sorry this update took so long! I knew where I wanted to go with the chapter, but I just couldn't get the words to come out right, and I had absolutely no time to write over the past couple of weeks. Thanks so much for being patient, and I hope you like the way it turned out.**

* * *

**-III-**

"Um, should Callen be alone in there with that guy?" Deeks asked.

"He's okay," Sam assured him, although as he watched his partner on screen, he wasn't sure how long that would last. "For now," he added quickly.

Inside the interrogation room, the man they had shot in front of Breanna's house was also watching Callen carefully. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, rubbing his shoulder through the heavy bandages, his eyes following Callen as he silently paced back and forth.

When Callen finally spoke, his voice was low and menacing. "Where is she?"

The man didn't answer.

Callen leaned over the table and narrowed his eyes. "Don't make me ask again."

The man's beady black eyes met Callen's icy blue ones for a moment, and then he quickly looked away, sputtering a short phrase in incomprehensible Russian.

"So you're not talking," Callen muttered. "In English anyway. What's your name?"

When he didn't receive a prompt response, he slammed his fist on the table in frustration. "Name," Callen demanded.

"Dmitri," came the raspy, almost inaudible reply.

"Dmitri," Callen repeated. "So Dmitri, you were ordered to kill the girl? Or just distract us long enough so your buddy could grab her?"

The man reverted to silence again, and Callen angrily resumed his pacing.

"Okay, I'll tell you what, Dmitri. We can do this the easy way or—"

"You did this."

Callen whirled around to face him.

The man spoke slowly, struggling with the English words, but his threat was clear.

"You did this," he repeated. "When you fell in love with her mother, Agent Callen."

Callen exploded. He lunged across the table and closed his hands around the man's throat.

"G!"

Sam smashed through the door to interrogation and hauled his partner off their suspect. Deeks rushed in behind him and pulled the Russian man to the other side of the room. Dmitri was waving his good arm wildly, his eyes wide and his face flushing red, yelling something that sounded suspiciously like a string of nasty curses in his language.

"What's he saying?" Deeks asked.

"I'm guessing he's not complimenting our interrogation technique," Sam growled, tightening his grip on his partner's arm. With Callen temporarily restrained, Sam turned to Dmitri. "I'd cooperate here, Mr. Dmitri…or I'm gonna let him go."

Dmitri swallowed visibly.

"The man who took Breanna," Callen said surprisingly calmly. "He ordered the hit on Kensi…tell me who he is."

"I do not know his name."

"Then tell me where I can find him."

"I do not know."

"You're lying."

"He will kill me."

"Trust me, you won't be any better off here."

"He is not easy to find," Dmitri admitted. "He hides in the darkest shadows. He knows things that others do not. He knows your past, Agent Callen…and who you are now. He ordered the hit on your lover because he knew she carried your child."

"Why? What does he want with my daughter?"

Dmitri hesitated. "To end your bloodline," he said quietly.

Callen's entire body tensed, and he strained against Sam's hold on him. "Where I do find him?" he demanded.

Dmitri glanced from Callen to Sam to Deeks, almost as if he were weighing his odds. He quickly decided that they weren't very good. "There is a dirt road to the north where the city meets the desert," he said. "It is marked by six dying trees. He will be inside the abandoned factory there."

That was all Callen needed to hear. Angrily, he broke away from Sam and stormed out of the room.

Just outside the door, Sam caught him by the arm and shoved him backwards against the wall.

"This has been a setup all along," Sam accused. "You're using Breanna to get to this guy."

"Sam—"

"You sent us out there to find her, we led them to that school, we led them to her parents' house. You _knew_ they would take her. This isn't about getting your daughter back. This is about taking out Kensi's murderer. What kind of father would do that?"

"I don't know!" Callen snapped. "I never had one!"

"G—"

"Sam, don't. Her mother is dead because of me."

Sam shook his head. "G, don't think like that."

"They wanted me, and they took Kensi instead. And I couldn't track them down. For _six years_." Callen paused to take a deep breath, and his voice suddenly became almost strangled. "Sam, I—I never thought I would be the one to lose her."

Slowly, Sam eased his grip on Callen's arm. He had never seen such a look in his partner's eyes before, and there was a part of him that understood the deep, damaging pain that he saw there.

"So is this about revenge or justice?" he asked quietly.

Callen's eyes grew dark. "Both."

* * *

"_How you doin'?" Callen greeted, shaking the business owner's hand. "EPA. It's time for your unscheduled health and safety inspection. We're gonna have to check you for regulation compliance."_

_The man looked surprised. "Excuse me? This is the third EPA inspection we've had this year."_

"_Ha!" Callen snorted. "Tell me about it. It's new paperwork every time. Personally, I think it's overkill. I mean, one report, with supplementals, that's all it needs…unless there's an issue."_

_Kensi rolled her eyes. "Oh, God, yeah, seriously, you don't want an issue. I mean, filling out those E37s…"_

_Callen headed down the aisle. "I'm gonna need to see all the usuals, okay? The outflow reports, the monitoring logs, the test results…"_

_It wasn't the first time they had posed as government officials who could recite federal regulations off the top of their heads. Hetty always provided the guidelines and credentials, but Callen and Kensi knew how to sell it. The procedures, the mannerisms, the jargon…it all came easily to them. They were born undercover operators who could be anyone, at any time, for any reason._

_But Kensi knew that Callen had no idea how to be a father._

_Her own father would have been surprised that his baby girl had fallen for a man with no concept of family. After all, Kensi's relationship with her father was one of the driving forces in her life. But Callen had never known anything even close to that, and it worried her that he would consequently reject his own daughter._

_Until one night when she lay by his side, curled comfortably against his chest, sighing contentedly as he ran his fingers through her silky brown locks and pressed a gentle kiss to her neck. He slowly trailed the line of kisses upwards along her jaw, and when his lips just grazed her ear, his voice sent shivers down her spine._

"_Teach me," he whispered._

_~*~o~*~_

Callen stared blankly out the car window as his words from that night echoed inside his head. He had never even gotten the chance to learn.

He shook off the memory and glanced over at Sam who was driving in silent concentration. It had been an unusually quiet ride out to the desert, and Deeks wasn't even offering any wisecracks from the back seat. It was as if all three of them were completely lost in their own thoughts.

As they passed a grove of black, scraggly-looking trees, Sam abruptly killed the engine on the Challenger and coasted to a stop. Hidden behind the sand dunes, exactly how Dmitri had described, the abandoned factory almost seemed to rise out of nowhere.

"You sure about this?" Sam finally spoke.

"Never been surer," Callen replied. He opened the door and put one foot out, removing his gun and laying it on the dashboard.

"You going in unarmed?"

"He'll take any weapons if he finds them."

"And if he tries to shoot you?"

"Save Breanna and get out of here."

Callen's voice was oddly serious, and with a last glance at his partner, he slid out of the car and headed towards the sand dunes. Sam watched him go.

"You worried about him?" Deeks asked.

Sam's expression was grim. "Right now I'm worried about all of us."

* * *

As Callen made his way to the top of a sand dune, he paused and took a good long look at the factory. It was an enormous building that looked completely lost in the wide expanse of the desert. It had also seen better days, as its windows were dark and grimy, its paint was chipped and peeling away, and the south side of its roof was just starting to collapse.

Callen approached cautiously, his senses on high alert, but he was surprised to find that his entrance went completely unchallenged. He pulled open one of the lower level garage doors, and it creaked and clanged noisily as it hit the top of the rusty runners. His footsteps echoed on the floor as he found himself in an empty annex with a high ceiling and long corridors leading off from all sides.

Suddenly, a light flashed on, and Callen whirled around, shielding his eyes with his hand as he was momentarily blinded.

"Welcome, Agent Callen," a deep voice greeted. "I told you we would be waiting."

The bright light dimmed slightly, and a tall man stepped out from the shadows. He no longer wore a mask, but Callen would have recognized him anywhere. His dark features, his wicked eyes, his knowing smile…

Callen froze as he felt a cold metal barrel against the back of his neck.

"Search him."

Several other men quickly surrounded him, and Callen willingly allowed himself to be patted down, not resisting in any way.

"You did not chase me, and now you come unarmed," the man said in surprise. "Why?"

"Wanted to see your face before I put a bullet through it."

The man merely laughed. "Hard to do without a weapon."

"Not impossible."

"Not recommended if you wish to save your daughter."

"Where is she?" Callen asked.

"Oh, I assure you she is safe. For now."

"And who are you?"

The man waved his hand nonchalantly. "Names are not important here. In fact, much like you, I do not have a name."

"Yeah, that's what your guy Dmitri said."

The man reconsidered the question for a moment. "You may call me Alexei," he decided.

"I'd rather call you Kensi's murderer."

Alexei smirked. "Ah, yes...Kensi. Breanna's beautiful mother. She was beautiful, wasn't she, Agent Callen? Perhaps that is where Breanna gets her good looks, no?"

Callen blatantly ignored his underhanded comments. "How'd you find her?" he asked.

Alexei laughed again. "Take a good look at your daughter, Agent Callen. She looks like you, she looks like your lover. It wasn't hard."

Callen raised an eyebrow, indicating that he didn't believe him at all.

"We watched you," Alexei continued. "After her mother died, you were completely blinded by your pain. It drove you mad, didn't it?" He chuckled. "The lone wolf finally finds his mate, and then she dies in your arms…it should have killed you, Agent Callen. And yet you refused to die."

Callen scoffed. "Am I supposed to be sorry for that?"

"It meant that you still had something to live for," Alexei explained. "We simply found out where it was." He glared at Callen accusingly. "You were a mistake, Agent Callen. Your entire bloodline should have been wiped out a long time ago. Your sister made it easy for us. But you—you escaped our radar more than once. And then you fell in love and had a daughter...that was not supposed to happen."

"Then why not just kill me?" Callen demanded. "Why Breanna? _Why Kensi_?"

"Because there are elements at play here that are way bigger than you and I. We are merely small pawns in this game."

"Yeah, what game is that?"

"The game of truth. Who you really are. Where you come from. Who hired us to eliminate you. What that G really stands for."

Callen's eyes narrowed, and he took a step forward, his fists clenched at his side. "You want to destroy my bloodline, Alexei…you'll have to kill me."

An evil smile formed on the man's lips. "Oh, believe me, Agent Callen..._I intend to_."

Alexei raised his gun and motioned to his men to step forward.

Callen calmly stared down the long, metal barrel, his eyes never leaving Alexei, as time seemed to come to a standstill. He took a single step backwards, gauging the location of another barrel pressed against his back.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Callen whirled around and landed a nasty punch to the first jaw within reach. As the man's head snapped backwards, his grip loosened on his weapon, and Callen snatched it from his hand and bolted.

Alexei's bullets rang out in the empty garage as Callen dove for cover behind some old metal shelving. There was a short break in the gunfire as Alexei yelled at his men to spread out, and Callen took the opportunity to peek out from behind the shelves and fire back.

The men readily traded gunfire with him, quickly closing in on his hiding place. As they shouted angrily to each other, Callen pressed himself flat against the metal shelf, remaining still and letting their bullets ricochet off the wall over his head.

The sound of screeching tires took them all by surprise. Sam's sleek black Challenger pummeled through the garage entrance at top speed, taking numerous hits from the Russians' gunfire before braking to a halt in the middle of the room. Sam and Deeks leapt out of the bullet riddled car and ducked behind the doors as Alexei's men opened fire on them.

Sam and Deeks were more than willing to exchange fire, and their sharp shooting gave Callen the reinforcements that he needed. He darted out from his hiding place, firing off another round of shots and catching the movement of a shadowy figure just out of the corner of his eye.

As the three agents quickly eliminated the Russians one by one, Alexei had realized that the fight was lost. Abandoning his men, he bolted for his car, gunning the engine and squealing the tires in reverse.

"Sam!"

Callen didn't hesitate about picking up the chase this time. He and his partner scrambled for the Challenger, furiously spinning the car around and speeding towards the garage doors, effectively cutting off Alexei's escape route.

"Thought I told you to save Breanna."

"Thought I'd save her father first."

Sam and Callen flung open the Challenger's doors and squared up their aim as Alexei's car roared towards them.

"Tires or driver?"

"Tires."

The two of them fired in unison at the car's tires, sending the vehicle careening into the wall.

As the front of the car crumpled and the windshield shattered, Alexei found himself trapped between the airbags and the seat. Callen tore the door open and hauled him out of the car by the lapels of his jacket, slamming him up against the wall.

"Where is she?"

Alexei was bruised and bloody from the crash, and he swayed unsteadily on his feet, but Callen could clearly see his lips curve into an evil smile. His voice was weak but still unnervingly sinister. "You will not find her, Agent Callen."

He laughed and valiantly tried to lift his gun with a wounded arm, preparing to pull the trigger…

Until Sam fired a well-aimed bullet through his shoulder. "For my sister," he said with conviction.

Deeks wasn't about to be left out. From across the room, he and his trusty Beretta quickly put a slug through Alexei's other shoulder. "For my partner," he added.

As Alexei lay on the ground with multiple bullet wounds, Callen took a step closer and stared at him with cold, icy eyes. The Russian man was breathing hard, grimacing in pain, blood seeping from his chest, his eyes swollen and sunken in defeat.

Callen leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "For my daughter's mother."

He raised his gun to the man's forehead.

And fired.

* * *

As the echo of the last gunshot faded away, an eerie silence fell over the ground floor of the factory. Callen was frozen to the spot. With Sam and Deeks at his side, he could not tear himself away from the body of Kensi's murderer, almost stunned by the sudden end of six years of vengeance.

Several minutes passed before the three men became vaguely aware of a low rumbling behind one of the walls. The floor was just beginning to tremble under their feet, a small vibration at first but quickly growing stronger. Tiny clouds of smoke sizzled out through the cracks in the walls, and a few sparks of fire hissed in the corners.

Callen, Sam, and Deeks didn't even have to say anything to each other. Speaking only through their eye contact, the three of them split in three different directions and raced through the corridors of the building, frantically kicking down the doors to every room, calling Breanna's name.

"Clear!" Sam yelled. "G, they're all clear!"

"Callen, the whole place is gonna blow!"

The walls were shaking harder now, and flames of fire surged through the hallways, rapidly igniting everything in their path. The temperature had shot up to a sticky, stifling heat, and dust and debris were already plummeting from the ceiling.

All three men were coughing from the smoke, wiping tears from their eyes and struggling to remain standing as the ground shook beneath them. A ceiling beam crashed to the ground only inches away, and Callen quickly scanned the corridors, his heart sinking into his stomach. Something wasn't right…there was nowhere else she could be.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Go!" Callen yelled. "Get out of here!" He whirled around and raced back down the corridor.

"G!"

But his partner's voice was lost in the deafening cascade of explosions. In a matter of seconds, the entire ceiling caved in between them, separating Sam and Deeks from Callen with an impenetrable wall of concrete.

Callen reached the end of the hallway and threw himself against the wall. He pounded furiously on it, to the point of making his hands bleed, looking for the weak spot that he knew was there.

When his fist finally smashed through the bottom corner, he ignored the pain and tore back the plaster. He squeezed through the gap and disappeared down the hidden passageway, the ground still quaking beneath him, almost knocking him over as a deep trench sliced through the floor. He knew he was running into a trap with no way out, but he also knew that he had heard his daughter's cry coming from behind this wall.

At the end of the corridor was the heaviest door in the building, padlocked with a bright, shiny new lock. As giant chunks from the ceiling continued to crumble around him, Callen threw his shoulder against the door in a vain attempt to break it down. When it stubbornly refused to budge, he backed up and drew his gun.

"Get back!" he yelled.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and wrapped his finger around the trigger, refusing to think about what would happen if this didn't work. He fired a cluster of shots straight into the door, and the bullets screamed and hissed as they exploded against the wooden frame.

Clawing his way through the splintered wood, Callen broke into the room, barely faltering as he was hit with a massive cloud of toxic gas.

"Breanna?"

He found his daughter sprawled on the floor, her hands tightly bound, coughing hard from the poisonous fumes that spit from the pipes. Her face was streaked with tears and smoky residue, and she was gasping for breath.

"Come on." He gathered the little girl in his arms and quickly pulled her back through the broken door.

The corridor leading back the way he had come was completely blocked, and he had no choice but to flee in the opposite direction.

Quickly, he carried his daughter through the maze of corridors, desperately searching for a way out. Flames from the raging inferno had spread quickly, and the smoke was both blinding and disorienting him. As more wooden beams fell from the ceiling, Callen hit the ground and yanked Breanna away from the burning embers. He hissed in pain as the fire splashed on his skin, and he heard her whimper softly as the flames lapped at her feet.

The panic that he could not get them out of this was just starting to set in. Blindly feeling his way down the corridor, Callen felt his fingers brush against a smooth piece of glass. Recognizing the lone window as his only escape route, he reached for the lock and twisted hard, but it was completely jammed with years of dust and grime.

Without hesitation, he backed up, drew his gun, and fired, the glass shattering into thousands of pieces.

Just seconds ahead of the flames, with a last surge of strength, Callen hurled himself through the window, taking Breanna with him, both of them tumbling into the fresh air, coughing and gasping for breath. As he hit the ground hard, Callen faintly heard Sam and Deeks yelling for him, but he couldn't run anymore...he collapsed on the sand and shielded his daughter's body with his.

And behind them, the entire factory exploded into flames.

Callen lay motionless on the ground, his daughter wrapped in his arms, his head throbbing in pain. He felt dizzy, like he was spinning, wavering on the edge of consciousness, and he could see four white walls closing in around him, with voices howling fiercely in the distance.

"G, come on..."

One of the voices sounded suspiciously like Sam, and Callen suddenly felt strong arms dragging him to his knees. "Come on."

Callen tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt so heavy. He tried to speak, but his throat was completely raw. "Breanna," he croaked.

Somehow he managed to crawl to the little girl's side and put his mouth on hers.

"Come on," he pleaded, cradling her head in his arms, pushing air into her lungs, trying to breathe life into her.

A few moments later, he heard a small cough, and then Breanna coughed again and sputtered violently, her whole body shaking hard.

"It's okay, you're okay," he murmured.

Unable to stay upright any longer, Callen collapsed in exhaustion on the ground next to his daughter. He was coughing now, too, his lungs desperate for fresh air, every muscle in his body screaming in pain.

"That—that's what a father's supposed to do, right, Sam?" he asked hoarsely.

Sam had watched the whole scene unfold before him, and he finally let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding. He looked down upon Callen and his daughter, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, G," he replied softly. "Something like that."


	5. Part IV

**Thanks so much to LostForeverInHisEyes for the inspiration for the box scene in this chapter. I really appreciate it and hope I did the scene justice. And if you haven't already, you should definitely check out her stories. LostForeverInHisEyes writes wonderful Callen/OC stories and has also written some fantastic Callen/Kensi stories.**

**Only one more chapter after this – thanks again for reading!**

* * *

**-IV-**

By the time Callen, Sam, and Deeks dragged themselves and one very tired little girl back to the boathouse, Hetty was already there, awaiting them with a first aid kit. Sam and Deeks gratefully retrieved a couple of ice packs and stretched out on the couches to nurse their wounds.

Meanwhile, Hetty's scrutinizing gaze raked over her lead agent. He was completely covered in dirt, blood, and smoky black ashes. His clothes were charred and tattered and most likely unsalvageable even by Hetty. But for once, that wasn't what had caught the little lady's attention.

Callen guided Breanna over to a chair and sat her down, reaching for a bottle of antiseptic and some cotton from Hetty's kit. Perching on the edge of the couch in front of his daughter, Callen gently dabbed the antiseptic on Breanna's forehead, and the little girl squirmed as the medicine stung. He carefully pressed a bandage to the largest gash on her face and then leaned over to examine her other cuts and scrapes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, tracing his finger along one of the red marks on her cheek. He reached for some healing cream from the kit and slowly rubbed it into the wound. "Why'd you jump on him?" he asked.

"He said he would hurt my mommy," Breanna answered simply.

The words were so innocent coming from his little girl, and Callen suddenly felt the familiar stabbing pain inside his heart again. His voice almost broke as he looked away. "He—he did."

Silence fell over the room as Callen's words hung in the air. Sam and Deeks exchanged an odd sideways glance, and even Hetty seemed surprised.

But the little lady was the first to recover, and she cleared her throat. "Breanna," she said softly. "Agent Callen is referring to your biological mother."

The little girl's brow wrinkled in confusion. "What?"

"Elizabeth is safe," Hetty assured her. "And she loves you very much. As far as she is concerned, she is your mother, and you are her daughter. But you also have a biological mother."

Breanna still wore a blank expression on her face, and Hetty quickly continued. "It simply means that you have two mothers," she explained. "You grew inside your biological mother, but after you were born, she needed someone else to take care of you. And so Elizabeth became the mother that you know."

"But…then who is my real mommy?" Breanna asked worriedly.

"Both of them, dearie," Hetty replied.

The little girl cocked her head, as if she were processing the information. "I—I don't remember her."

"Well, you wouldn't, B," Sam said gently. "Your mom died when you were born."

"Oh." Breanna's face fell sadly.

"Her name was Kensi, and she was an NCIS agent," Sam explained. "But some really bad guys hurt her, and they wanted to hurt you."

"Why?"

Sam looked over at his partner uncertainly. "We don't know, B," he admitted. "But we promised your mother that we wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"Your mom was a great lady," Deeks added.

Breanna's eyes widened. "You knew her, too?"

"I did," Deeks said proudly. "She taught me the ropes around here. Your mother was fearless. Nothing scared her." He counted off a list on his fingers. "Not bad guys, not big guns, not big trucks, not exploding buildings…"

"Deeks!"

"Not Sam..."

"Deeks!"

With a sly grin, Deeks leaned in closer to Breanna and whispered in her ear, "There was even one time when she beat up Sam in the gym..."

Sam shot Deeks a nasty look. "I went easy on her," he grumbled.

"Sure you did."

As Sam and Deeks continued to argue, Hetty noticed that Callen had been unusually quiet. She rose from the couch and quietly motioned to him to follow her to the back corner of the boathouse. He did, although somewhat reluctantly, and Hetty knew he was waiting for her to stand him down.

But not this time.

"Tough kid," she remarked.

Callen shrugged. "She's got good genes."

He tried to offer a smile, but Hetty could see the hidden sadness in his features. "I'm sorry you still didn't get your answers, Mr. Callen."

He sighed. "I got the one that mattered."

Hetty nodded in understanding. "Kensi."

"Someone hired Alexei, Hetty. Someone wanted to make sure our daughter didn't survive. Because of my name. Because of who I am."

"Another tiny thread in the fabric of your life, Mr. Callen."

It was more a statement than a question, and Callen nodded. "And they're still out there."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"Maybe someday I'll finally be able to answer that question, Hetty."

She looked at him expectantly. "When?"

"After I track them down."

"And if they come after Breanna again in the meantime?"

Callen's eyes darkened. "Then I will be there to take out every single one of them."

Hetty studied him closely. "So you don't regret it, Mr. Callen?" she asked quietly.

Callen shook his head. "No, Hetty," he said. "I don't."

The little lady smiled and motioned to a box on the table. "I brought this for you," she said. "From the archives room. Along with this."

She handed Callen a single sheet of paper, and he gave her a questioning look.

"Her birth certificate," Hetty explained. "The real one."

Wordlessly, Callen fingered the paper in his hands. He looked down and felt his heart clench at the name staring back at him.

_Amy Marie Callen-Blye_

"I think your sister would be proud of her namesake, don't you?" Hetty asked. "And so would Kensi."

It took Callen a moment to find his voice again. "Hetty, we changed her name, we changed her life—"

"To protect her," Hetty interrupted. "To keep her safe. That is what a father does, is it not, Mr. Callen?"

Silently, Callen looked down at the paper again. _Callen-Blye_. He traced his fingers over the words – his name combined with Kensi's – and the letters suddenly seemed to blur in front of his eyes.

"She doesn't know," he finally said. "Should she?"

"That's up to you, Mr. Callen," Hetty replied gently. "After all, you are her father."

* * *

"Mr. Hanna, Mr. Deeks. With me, please, gentlemen."

"Where are we going?" Breanna asked.

"You, my dear, are staying here with Callen," Hetty replied. "The rest of us—" She motioned to Sam and Deeks. "—will be leaving."

"Where are we going?" Deeks echoed.

But Sam understood. He saw the box that Callen carried in his arms, and he rose from the couch and swiftly gave Deeks a not-so-subtle hint to follow.

"Ow." The LAPD cop stood up. "Okay, my newly bruised shin bone and I are right behind you."

As Sam and Deeks obediently followed Hetty out of the boathouse, Callen sank down on the couch and placed the box on the table in front of him.

"Come here," he said, offering his hand to the little girl.

Breanna hopped off the chair and clambered up on the couch next to Callen, examining the box curiously.

"Do not touch," she read slowly. "This means you."

"It's okay," Callen assured her. "Your mom won't mind."

As Callen opened the box, Breanna held her breath in anticipation. Inside were a variety of trinkets and toys, and the little girl squealed with delight.

She giggled as the plastic teeth chattered at her, and she suddenly drew her hand back at the sight of the king cobra.

Callen smiled as he calmly took the snake out of the box. "It's stuffed," he said.

He squeezed its neck to show her, and Breanna grinned sheepishly. Setting the cobra aside, she reached back into the box and pulled out a ring of plastic bracelets. "What are these?"

"That is a full set of seventy-two ultra jelly bracelets," Callen informed her matter-of-factly.

Breanna's eyes sparkled as he slipped a few of them around her wrist. She shook her arm and laughed happily as the colorful rainbow of bracelets jangled up and down.

Pleased with her new jewelry, Breanna excitedly pulled the next item out of the box. It was a baby doll with a little round, bald head and a white shirt and red pants.

"Ohhh," she breathed. She cradled the doll in her arms and hugged him tightly.

"That's Pete," Callen explained. "He didn't go for a real high price on the black market...but your mom thought he was priceless." As Callen surveyed the rest of the collection in front of him, his voice dropped to a soft whisper. "Like all of this stuff."

Breanna looked down at a small item that had been hidden underneath Pete in the box. "What about this?"

She reached inside the box again and pulled out a small black jewelry box. She looked over at Callen, and his breath seemed to catch, but then he nodded, and the little girl carefully opened it. Inside was a beautiful diamond ring, a white gold band with two tiny intertwined jewels.

"This was hers, too?" she asked softly.

Callen nodded.

"It's so pretty," Breanna said. "She must have been pretty."

"She was." Callen reached over and took the ring from his daughter, twirling it gently in his fingers and watching the light glint off the crystals. He couldn't stop the lump from forming in his throat. "But she never got the chance to wear it."

As Callen's fist tightened around the ring, Breanna immediately sensed his sudden change in mood. Concerned, she moved closer to him on the couch and reached up to touch his face. It was as if she were trying to comfort the pain that crossed his features at the mention of her mother.

"You were going to marry her?" she asked innocently.

But Callen could not find his voice to answer.

_~*~o~*~_

"_If you tell me you're picking me up at nine, eight-fifty I'm curbside."_

"_Got caught up in something," Callen muttered._

"_What? You don't have a TV, you don't read the newspaper, you clearly don't spend any time getting ready."_

"_Well, maybe I was working out."_

"_You don't work out."_

"_All right, you know what? I went to the store."_

"_What store? You don't shop."_

_Callen turned around and glared at his partner._

"_What? Don't tell me you slept in again."_

_"I didn't sleep in again."_

_Sam grinned suggestively. "Oh, come on, I think it's great that you're finally in a relationship."_

_"Sam, what are you, my mother or something?"_

_"I just want you to be happy and find a good girl," Sam insisted._

_"Sam," Callen said irritably. "This is the last time we're gonna have this conversation."_

_"Yeah, why's that?"_

_Callen reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black jewelry box. "Because I found one."_

_~*~o~*~_

Slowly, Callen set the diamond ring back in its box. He knew Sam had been surprised that morning. His partner had never thought the day would come when Callen and Kensi would finally commit to each other in such a way.

In the end, it never did.

Callen was still lost in his thoughts as he snapped the lid closed, and he almost jumped when he felt Breanna tap his arm. The faraway look in his eyes immediately vanished, and he shook himself out of the memory. He forced a smile and handed Pete to the little girl again.

"Come on," he finally said. "Let's get you home."

* * *

The sun was just coming up over the horizon as Callen's silver metallic car pulled up in front of Breanna's house. LAPD had been notified that protection detail was over, and the officers and their squad cars had already cleared out.

Elizabeth and Michael were busy sweeping up the remnants of their front window, and it wasn't until that moment when Callen realized that he truly envied his daughter. Returning to both her home and her parents meant that she had a permanence in life that he had never had – and that he never could have given her.

As Breanna slid out of the car and turned to look back at him, Callen found himself staring at a miniature reflection of Kensi. The little girl still wore the jelly bracelets proudly around her wrist, and she clutched Pete tightly in her arms and smiled.

"Breanna!" Elizabeth called.

Breanna waved at her mother and started towards her, but suddenly stopped and looked back at Callen.

Quickly, she ran back to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. As he felt the little girl's arms around him, Callen found himself falling to his knees and cautiously enveloping his daughter in a hug.

Breanna pulled back and looked Callen straight in the eye. "Good-bye, Daddy," she whispered.

And before he could even respond, she quickly turned and hurried back to her house.

Callen almost felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. He stood frozen as Elizabeth and Michael swept Breanna up in their arms, utterly relieved that their daughter was home safe. Their daughter. _His _daughter. Without anyone ever saying the words, somehow his little girl knew.

"Bye," he said softly. His voice came out hoarse, and he could barely recognize it as his own. But she couldn't hear him anyway. With a heavy heart, Callen leaned back against the car and cast one last glance at his daughter.

He was just about to turn away when a strange shiver ran up his spine. His heart suddenly beat just a little bit faster, and his breath caught as he felt another hand reach for his, softly squeezing his fingers. It was a light touch, almost a ghostly touch, but a very familiar one.

"Kensi," he whispered.

He knew it was her. He could feel her. He inhaled her sweet scent deeply, and he closed his eyes as he felt her lips against his cheek. Slowly, she pressed a line of soft kisses along his jaw, becoming more insistent, until she finally wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, capturing his lips in a deep, passionate kiss.

"Callen..." she murmured.

He could even hear her voice now. Just a faint whisper.

_Callen…_


	6. Epilogue

**And so we have come to the final chapter. I'm really sorry this took so long – real life has been very busy, and I just haven't had much time to write. Thanks so much to everyone for reading and reviewing throughout the story. I hope you found that it was a little bit of a different twist on the idea of Callen and Kensi having a child together, and I hope you like the ending. Thanks again!**

* * *

**-Epilogue-**

"Callen!"

Kensi awoke with a startled gasp, and Callen was by her side in an instant. She blinked groggily, and her body trembled as she tried to orient herself in the dimly lit room. Her breath came in short, ragged bursts, and she seemed almost confused as her dark multicolored eyes met his icy blue ones.

"Kensi."

But then she felt him whisper against her ear, and the warmth of his body seeped into hers, providing familiar, welcome comfort. Carefully, he slid closer to her and touched his hand to her cheek.

"Hi."

"Hi," she said softly.

"You were dreaming."

"I—I was," she confirmed.

As her breathing slowly returned to normal, Kensi struggled to sit up slightly, and Callen put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Kenz, don't."

It was only then that Kensi realized that she lay in a hospital bed, attached to an IV, a steadily beeping heart monitor, and several other medical tubes. She became vaguely aware of stitches and bandages wrapped around her middle, and as she tried to move her arms, she realized just how stiff, bruised, and sore she was. Grimacing in pain, she sank back into the pillows and sighed.

"How long has it been?" she asked.

"Three days."

"Three days?" Kensi repeated. She looked over at him in surprise. "Callen—"

"She was born three days ago," he said, as if he were reading her mind. "And she looks like you," he added softly.

"With your eyes," Kensi murmured.

"Yeah?"

"I saw her," Kensi explained. "In my dream."

Her voice sounded unusually weak, and Callen could hear the sadness in it. Tenderly, he brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face. "Kenz, we had to."

"I know," she whispered. She didn't know if she was trying to convince him or herself. "To protect her. From the—"

Kensi's eyes suddenly grew wide. "Callen," she said in a panicked tone, "there's another one. There's another Russian operative—"

"I know."

"There were three of them in the car..."

"No, Kenz, don't you remember? Sam and Deeks got 'em."

"What?"

"Sam and Deeks arrested two gunmen at the scene. The driver was dead. You shot him."

_The black car roared down the street, two masked figures hanging out the window with guns aimed directly at her._ _She squared up against the car and fired through its front windshield._

Kensi suddenly saw the replay clearly in her mind. "No, Callen, there's another one," she insisted. "The dead Marine was a trap. It was a setup to lure us out because he wants our daughter—"

"Because he wants me," Callen finished calmly.

"How—how did you…?" Kensi looked up, and her eyes locked with his in realization.

"You dreamed it, too," she whispered softly.

"I did."

"Your nightmare?"

Callen nodded.

"But you saved her."

"And lost you." Callen ran his thumb over her cheek, leaning over to rest his forehead against hers. "Kensi," he murmured, his voice soft and tender. "Marry me."

She swore her heart skipped a beat. "What?"

"In case I don't get another chance to ask."

Kensi stared at him in shock. Silently, her eyes searched his, the intensity of his gaze piercing a hole straight through her heart. And as if to erase any doubt from her mind, Callen slowly lowered his lips onto hers in a gentle kiss.

"Yes," she finally whispered.

"Yes?"

"In case I don't get another chance to answer."

With a faint smile, she pulled him close again and captured his lips in another kiss. As his mouth softly caressed hers, Kensi could feel the heat starting to ignite between them...until they were interrupted by the urgent clearing of someone's throat.

Callen and Kensi broke apart sheepishly as they found Hetty watching them from the foot of the bed.

"It's done," she reported quietly.

Her words sent Kensi's heart plummeting into her stomach.

Sadly, Kensi turned her head away, and Hetty laid a gentle hand on hers in comfort. "I'm sorry, dear. They couldn't stop the labor, so it was vital that we move quickly."

"I know, Hetty," Kensi whispered. "It's okay."

"She's beautiful," Hetty assured her. "Her name is—"

"Breanna."

"Yes," Hetty replied, looking at Kensi with surprise. "How did—"

Kensi had a funny expression on her face. "I—I dreamed it."

"Breanna Johnson," Callen added.

Hetty raised an eyebrow.

"I dreamed it, too."

Hetty nodded. That was indeed the name on the birth certificate. After it had been discovered that the murder of U.S. Marine Jason Reilly was actually an attack on two of her agents and their unborn child, Hetty had taken her job very seriously. Using connections that it was most certainly better for the world not to know about, she had quickly made arrangements for the child. It would never be known that her agents were the parents of a beautiful baby girl because now there was a new set of parents ready to take her home.

And so, to complete her mission, Hetty quietly handed Callen a small brown leather book.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's a book, Mr. Callen," she replied. "With your daughter's address."

_~*~o~*~_

_Slowly, Hetty eased herself down on the couch where her operational psychologist was intently studying a little book._

"_Something to share, Nate?" she asked quietly._

_He hesitated a moment, shifting on the couch and recrossing his legs, as Hetty did the same._

_"Each address was entered chronologically, all by the same person," he said, pointing to a page in the book. "Different pens, different pencils, these addresses weren't all added at the same time, but as they happened. Every time Callen moved, the same person wrote down his new address."_

_Hetty looked at him carefully. "You're saying someone…someone was watching Callen all those years?"_

_Nate nodded almost imperceptibly. "The same person."_

_~*~o~*~_

Callen opened the little book and flipped to the first page where the address was neatly handwritten. It was the only writing in the book. Hetty could see the recognition dawning in his eyes as he suddenly understood the meaning behind the gift.

"Thought you might want to watch something, too," she said with a knowing smile.

* * *

"Hey."

It wasn't long before Kensi returned to work, and Deeks was the first one to enter the bullpen that morning and greet his partner cheerfully.

"Hi," she said in response.

"I brought you a Twinkie," he announced proudly. He pulled the tiny sweet cake from his bag and tossed it across the room.

Kensi caught it smoothly and placed it on her desk. "Thanks."

Deeks paused. "Wait, you're not even gonna eat it? I'll have you know I went to great lengths to get that Twinkie."

"Thank you," Kensi repeated quietly. She looked down at her desk again, seemingly preoccupied with her paperwork.

"Did Hetty stick you on desk duty?" Deeks asked bluntly.

"No," she replied honestly. "Just catching up on some things I missed."

No teasing. No jokes. No snide remarks at his expense. And no Twinkie fired back violently at his head.

Deeks' smile quickly faded. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked, a genuinely concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine."

"Kensi…" he said warningly.

"Deeks…" she mimicked.

"Kensi," he said softly. "It's okay...if I had just been pregnant, I don't know if I would be back on duty yet either."

"Deeks, if you had just been pregnant, you wouldn't know what to do with yourself."

Deeks had to admit she had a point there. "Not to mention getting hit by a car and coming out of a three-day coma," he added.

Kensi rolled her eyes. With an exaggerated gesture, she unwrapped the Twinkie and took a huge bite, glaring at her partner. "Deeks, I'm fine."

"Yeah." Deeks sighed defeatedly. "I can tell."

* * *

On the other side of the bullpen, hidden in the shadows of the hacienda, Callen watched the Twinkie exchange between Deeks and Kensi. Leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, his eyes unwavering on Kensi, he recognized a familiar pain in his chest, the same one that had plagued him in his nightmare after he had lost his beautiful girl. But now, as he watched her swallow one bite and then push the Twinkie away, it was almost as if he were losing her in an entirely different way.

"How is she, Mr. Callen?"

He sighed. Somehow the owner of that voice always managed to find him.

"Hurting," he replied. "But not admitting it."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you hurting but not admitting it?"

Callen shook his head. "Hetty, we're undercover agents. We knew this was the way it had to be."

She nodded thoughtfully. "But that doesn't make it hurt any less."

"You're the one who let her come back to work."

"Sometimes the only way to heal your pain is to face what is causing it," Hetty said simply. She pointed towards the stairs. "I believe there is a reason why you are both needed here today."

As if on cue, Eric's whistle rang out across the bullpen. Callen eyed Hetty suspiciously as he started for the stairs, but the little lady wore a notoriously innocent expression.

"Mr. Callen," she called after him. "The right choice is not always the easy one."

He didn't answer, and Hetty watched him continue up the stairs, her heart weighing heavily inside. "Sometimes it's hard to tell," she added softly.

* * *

"What do we got, Eric?" Callen asked as he strode into the ops room, followed closely by Sam, Deeks, and Kensi.

"This case isn't over," the computer tech announced, typing rapidly on his keyboard. "Those Russian operatives that you guys took out…I've been tracking their past movements like you wanted."

"And?"

Kensi glanced at Callen as Eric pulled the photos up on screen. "And after running facial recognition, I was able to trace these guys back through Russia. Driver's name was Nikolai...he's dead. The other two...Sergei and—"

"Dmitri," Kensi interrupted.

"Yeah," Eric confirmed, looking up in surprise. "Turns out that Sergei and Dmitri crossed paths several times with another guy in Russia. Couldn't pull a lot of surveillance footage from their servers. This is the best we've got."

A blurry photo of a dark-haired Russian man popped up on the screen.

Callen took a step forward.

"Oh, my God," Kensi gasped. "Alexei."

Eric looked at her questioningly. "Alexei? You recognize him?"

"You could say that."

Eric raised an eyebrow as if he didn't quite believe her. "Um, okay. Running a search for an Alexei..."

"You won't find him," Callen said. "He's a ghost."

He pulled the little book out of his back pocket and handed it to Eric. "Run this address."

Eric flipped to the first page. "Uh, okay." He quickly typed it in. "It's a residence on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Homeowner's name is Johnson...Michael and Elizabeth."

"Check the surveillance cameras in the area."

Eric nodded and pushed a few buttons. "Nothing really unusual—"

"There."

Eric froze the image just as a black car with tinted windows passed through the camera.

Callen turned to Kensi. "He's here."

She nodded. "He knows she's still alive."

Callen looked at his partner. "Sam."

Kensi looked at hers. "Deeks."

Both of them headed towards the door.

Sam and Deeks hung back for a moment, having been strangely silent through the entire briefing.

Eric looked at them curiously. "Any idea how they knew all that?" he asked.

"Nope."

Callen and Kensi turned around in unison. "We dreamed it."

* * *

As the black Challenger and the silver Cadillac pulled up to a familiar driveway, Callen and Kensi both felt as if they had stepped into their dream. They recognized every detail from the color of the house down to the stone walkway and the flowerboxes on the window.

"Deeks, what do we got?"

Deeks had just pulled out his binoculars to survey the scene. The glint of a shiny metal barrel carried by a shadowy figure in the distance immediately caught his eye.

"Shooter at the top of the hill, just behind the house."

"Okay, let's take him out," Kensi said eagerly.

"No, there could be a second shooter," Sam's voice shot back in her ear. "Or a whole gang of them."

"Sam—" she started to protest.

"Kensi." She heard Callen's voice in her ear, too. "We're not starting a firefight if we don't have to."

"I think we might have to," Deeks countered. He checked the binoculars again. "At least six of them, all closing in on the house."

In the rear view mirror, Kensi suddenly caught a glimpse of another masked man. "There's seven," she said. She squinted to get a better look at the figure, recognizing something very familiar about the way he moved and the way he carried his weapon.

Her entire body tensed. "Callen, he's here."

"Kensi—"

"I got him," she said, quickly hopping out of the car, her eyes never leaving the man.

"Deeks, get the parents out of there."

"On it."

Deeks quickly made his way up the front walkway and knocked on the door. As soon as it opened, he immediately flashed his badge.

"LAPD. I need you to come with me."

* * *

Moving stealthily, Kensi followed the masked man along the side of the house. He cut across the small stretch of yard and hurried up to the back porch. As he reached for the doorknob, Kensi darted out of the shadows and purposely bumped into him hard.

"Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry," Kensi gasped in a syrupy sweet voice, as the man stumbled sideways. As she slowly lifted her eyes to stare into his, Alexei's eyes narrowed in recognition.

Knowing she had been made, Kensi launched herself into him, and she heard a satisfying crack as her fist smashed into Alexei's jaw. She ripped the mask from his face, and he growled in pain and put a hand to his mouth as his lip began to bleed.

Angrily, he retaliated with a series of rapid punches aimed at her head. Kensi dodged one fist and then the other, and then she suddenly ducked forwards underneath his arm.

She wrenched his arms harshly behind his back, but somehow he managed to twist out of her grasp, reversing their positions and locking his arms around her throat. Kensi violently thrust an elbow in his face and backed up into the side of the house, smashing him against it.

As she broke free, Alexei tackled her hard, pinning her to the ground, and Kensi gasped as he delivered a well-aimed, forceful blow to her stomach. As she lay temporarily stunned in pain, the Russian operative scrambled to his feet and raced to the back door.

Recovering quickly, Kensi raced after him in pursuit. Inside the house, she stumbleddown the hallway, following Alexei into the nursery. He snatched the child from her crib, and Kensi's heart almost stopped when she heard Breanna's cry.

Steadying herself against the doorframe, Kensi raised her gun. "Let her go."

Alexei pressed his weapon against the side of Breanna's head. "Not another step," he growled.

Kensi froze. As her eyes darted from Alexei to Breanna, she slowly lowered her weapon. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded.

"Carrying out orders, Agent Blye."

He backed up a step towards the window, tightening his grip on Breanna as he saw Kensi's grip tighten on her gun again. Alexei gave her a warning glare.

"Who sent you?" she asked. "Who wants Callen's daughter dead?"

Alexei laughed wickedly. "You are just like him. Both of you ask who, when you should be asking why."

Kensi's eyes narrowed. "Then tell me why."

"He is the last of his bloodline," Alexei explained. "Or he was. Until you gave him the daughter he was never supposed to have." He scowled angrily. "_You were supposed to die_."

"Only in your dreams," Kensi spat.

"Oh, Agent Blye," Alexei said, shaking his head. "I do believe that my dream is about to become your nightmare."

Grasping Breanna securely, Alexei fired at Kensi like lightning. She hit the ground as the bullet just grazed her arm, and before she could react, Alexei disappeared out the window with her baby.

* * *

"Callen!"

Outside the house, Callen and Sam were crouched low behind the Challenger, taking cover from the whirlwind of gunfire as six rounds of bullets ricocheted off the car.

"Callen, the window."

He heard Kensi's voice in his ear as another round of bullets screamed above his head, and he peeked out from behind the car and fired back. Out of the corner of his eye, Callen saw Alexei drop to the ground from the first floor window and take off running.

"Sam, we gotta finish this!"

"Right behind you, G."

In unison, the two partners rose from behind the car and rushed into the line of fire, shooting without mercy. Covering each other's backs, Callen and Sam fired in all directions, and in a matter of seconds, six Russian men suddenly lay dead on the street.

The two partners looked at each other, both instantly knowing what the other was thinking. Sam went right, Callen went left. The two agents split in opposite directions, racing alongside the house in pursuit.

On the far side of the house, Callen came flying out of nowhere, launching himself into Alexei, knocking the man to the ground and grabbing the child from his arms. As Callen safely rolled away with his daughter, Alexei landed a nasty kick to the side of his head, snatching the child back.

As Breanna's cry filled the air, Alexei whirled around and headed for the other side of the house. He stopped abruptly and backed up as he almost ran into Sam.

"Going somewhere?"

Alexei immediately turned and fled in the other direction, only to find Callen's gun pointed at his face.

"I don't think so."

Desperately, Alexei lunged in the third direction, only to find himself staring down the barrel of an LAPD Beretta.

"Not today, buddy."

Alexei took several steps backwards, quickly looking back and forth between Callen, Sam, and Deeks, weighing his options. Three armed agents closing in on him didn't give him much of a chance.

"You gonna shoot me, Agent Callen?" he taunted. "While I hold your daughter in my arms?"

Anger flashed through Callen's eyes as his finger hovered over the trigger. Alexei grinned wickedly, only increasing the temptation.

"No." Slowly, Callen shook his head and lowered his weapon. "I already had my chance."

Alexei cocked his head in confusion. He looked cautiously at Sam and Deeks.

"So did they."

With a quick glance back at Callen, Alexei simply shrugged and raised his own weapon.

A split second later, a round of bullets slammed into his back.

"But she didn't."

The smoke sizzled from Kensi's gun as she climbed out the window. As Callen knelt down to check Alexei's pulse, Kensi quickly picked up the crying child by his side. Breanna's fall to the ground had been cushioned by the Russian man, but she was streaked with his blood and crying loudly.

"Shhhh," Kensi whispered. With a touch that only a mother could have, she cradled Breanna in her arms and rocked her gently. She wiped the blood from her forehead, and as the little girl's cries slowly quieted, her beautiful blue eyes popped open to gaze at the mother she would never know.

But for a fleeting moment, Callen was completely mesmerized by the sight of Kensi holding their daughter. He could not explain the feeling inside as he saw the spark return to her eyes. Somehow the little girl in her arms was filling the empty hole in her heart.

* * *

"You okay?"

Kensi groaned. Her whole body ached fiercely, and she had probably ripped out some stitches. Holding her side in pain, she hobbled to the car and leaned against it.

"I told you it wasn't a great idea to go out chasing bad guys just yet."

"Deeks, I'm fine."

"So you keep telling me."

The front yard was bustling with activity, swarming with LAPD officers and paramedics and neighbors who had heard the commotion. Kensi knew it would be easy for NCIS to simply fade into the background now. And in the end, the only thing that mattered was that her daughter was safe. But she could not deny that her arms felt empty, longing to hold her child just once more.

"What'd you tell them?" Deeks asked softly.

"That these men were wanted for the murder of a U.S. Marine. Whose wife was pregnant. They came back to take the baby as leverage, and they grabbed Breanna instead."

"It's the truth."

Kensi shrugged. "Some of it anyway."

Gingerly, she managed to ease herself back into the car when suddenly her phone rang.

"Yeah?"

"Kenz, come up here, I need you."

"Callen, what is it?" Ignoring her pain, Kensi hopped out of the car again, spinning around and scanning the area.

"Just come up here."

There was a click on the phone as he hung up, and Kensi worriedly looked over at Deeks. Her partner nodded, and Kensi quickly hurried up the small grassy hill overlooking the house.

"What is it?" she asked breathlessly.

Callen didn't answer, just stood and stared.

"Callen?"

"Look down."

Kensi followed his gaze and couldn't help but smile.

The blond woman from her dream was talking to the police, with her husband at her side, rocking Breanna in her arms, holding her as if she would never let go again. Despite the commotion, the little girl was now sleeping peacefully, wrapped in a cozy blue baby blanket.

Suddenly feeling a little faint, Kensi leaned back against Callen and laid her head on his shoulder. "This is how it's gonna be," she said softly. "This is how we're gonna protect her."

"Yeah." Callen's eyes darkened as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close and brushing his lips against hers. When he moved to deepen the kiss, Kensi melted into him, and the only coherent thought that crossed her mind was how he always managed to leave her completely breathless.

"Sometimes it's easier when you just leave the lie in place," she whispered.

"Sometimes."

"So she'll never know."

"Maybe not."

"Maybe someday she'll find out," Kensi murmured wistfully.

And with the same thought, they both looked down upon their daughter one last time.

_Maybe she already knows._


End file.
